


Snakefang's Decision

by skytroops



Series: We All Fall Down [1]
Category: Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Canon-Typical Violence, Fan-made Warrior Clans, Gen, LGBTQ Themes, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-03-02
Updated: 2016-03-02
Packaged: 2018-03-26 07:10:35
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Major Character Death, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 6,666
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3841786
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/skytroops/pseuds/skytroops
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>After one of the worst epidemics of green-cough the clans have seen, Snakekit is born into Oakclan, and the cats of the clan are more than happy to see such a healthy kit after such a tragic event. Snakekit —on the other paw— couldn’t be happier that he is the son to one of Oakclan’s most noble cats.</p><p>However, when his mother takes him away in the night to meet a gang cat from the dreaded man-place, the small kit realizes that his life isn’t as simple as he used to think. Things become worse when the gang cat demands that he must follow him to man-place.</p><p>Now with a paw set in the forest, and a paw in man-place, Snakekit must decide where he belongs, before that is decided for him.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Allegiances

** PINECLAN **

**LEADER  
****Stonestar** — Huge grey tom covered in battle scars, and has green eyes.

 **DEPUTY** **  
Spiderstrike** — Bulky, but small near black tabby tom with a white muzzle and paws. Has tufted ears, a stubby tail and dark amber eyes. ( Apprentice - Duskpaw )

 **MEDICINE CAT  
Rockfoot** **—** Dusty brown molly with large heavy paws and green eyes. ( Apprentice - Wolfpaw )

 **WARRIORS**       ( cats without kits )  
**Lightningfur** **—** Sand-coloured molly with pale classic tabby stripes, scars on her right shoulder and long fur that spikes out in all angles. Has yellow eyes.  
( Apprentice - Hazepaw )

 **Softheart** — Cream and white tabby molly with soft fur and a small pink nose and piercing blue eyes.  
( Apprentice - Swiftpaw )

 **Grasstail** — Dark brown and white tom with tattered ears, a long white bushy tail and green eyes.  
( Apprentice - Gingerpaw )

 **Cowpatch —** Grey and white tom with large lake-coloured eyes.  
( Apprentice - Shadepaw )

 **Redfur** — Dark reddish-brown classic tabby tom with a long scar running across his face and has pale amber eyes.  
( Apprentice - Cloverpaw )

 **Frozenwhisker —** White molly with light grey forepaws and bright amber eyes.

 **Poppystorm —** Pretty dark tortorise-shell molly with grey-yellow eyes.

 **Blacksplash —** White molly with a black mask-like marking on her face and dark blue eyes.

 **Patchfoot —** Black and white molly with torn ears, a severally scared face, a missing tail-tip, and amber eyes.

 **APPRENTICES**     ( more than six moons old, in training to become warriors )  
**Wolfpaw —** Snow-white molly with a black tail-tip and right ear. Has long soft fur, bright blue eyes and she is deaf in her left ear.

 **Hazepaw** **—** Stocky pale grey mackerel-tabby tom with a torn ear and amber eyes.

 **Gingerpaw** **—** Dark ginger molly with a white muzzle and pale yellow eyes.

 **Shadepaw** **—** Tall lanky black molly with dark blue eyes.

 **Cloverpaw —** White tom with grey ears and dark leaf-green eyes.

 **Duskpaw** **—** Long-furred grey-blue tom with dull green eyes.

 **Swiftpaw** **—** Small brown spotted-tabby tom with strong stout legs, a pale chest and underbelly, and green eyes.

 **QUEENS**             ( cats expecting or nursing kits )  
**Marigoldshine**   **—** Golden mackerel-tabby molly with a short tail, a scarred muzzle and amber eyes.  
( Mother of Flintkit and Foxkit )

 **Batear**   **—** Tan molly with a pale chest, large ears and blue-green eyes.  
( Mother of Snakekit )

 **ELDERS**                ( former warriors and queens, now retired )  
**Pheasantwing**   **—** Frail dusty brown molly with a greying face and cloudy blue eyes. The oldest cat in Oakclan and is becoming blind. **  
**

**Branchtail** **—** Dark brown tom with patchy fur, a long, crooked tail and yellow eyes.

 **Morningbreeze** **—** Skinny red-point molly and weak amber eyes.

 **Bouncenose —** Silver-blue tom with black spotted-tabby markings, a lame leg and pale green eyes.

 **KITS**                     ( cats under six moons, preparing to become apprentices )  
**Flintkit** **—** Grey molly with lighter grey splotches and green eyes. Walks oddly.

 **Foxkit —** Ginger and white tom with a bushy tail and blue-grey eyes.

 **Snakekit** **—** Dark brown mottled-tabby with tufted ears, a pale muzzle, chest and underbelly and grey eyes.

**PINECLAN**

**LEADER  
Dawnstar** **—** Pale mackerel-tabby tom with one amber eye and one blind eye.

 **DEPUTY** **  
Thorntuft** **—** Grey and white molly with messy long fur and amber eyes.

 **MEDICINE CAT**  
Maplelight — Brown marble-tabby molly with green eyes.

 **WARRIORS**       ( cats without kits )  
**Blackhawk** **—** Long-furred broad-shouldered black tom with shredded ears, big wide paws, and deep amber eyes.  
( Apprentice - Bearpaw )

 **Owltalon** **—** Ginger spotted-tabby and white molly with long sharp claws and yellow eyes.  
( Apprentice - Quailpaw )

 **Thunderstorm** **—** Tan mackerel-tabby and white tom with bright yellow eyes.  
( Apprentice - Pebblepaw )

 **Sandyback** **—** Pale tom with a darker back and pale green-blue eyes.

 **Ryeclaw** **—** Short light brown mackerel-tabby tom with yellow eyes.  
( Apprentice - Barkpaw )

 **Marshfur** **—** Brown tom with patchy unkept fur and dark green eyes.

 **Nightflight** **—** Near black molly with a scarred face and shoulders, and dark amber eyes. **  
**

**APPRENTICES**     ( more than six moons old, in training to become warriors )  
**Bearpaw** **—** Long-furred dark brown molly with yellow eyes.

 **Barkpaw** **—** Brown mackerel-tabby tom with large paws, long claws, and amber eyes.

 **Quailpaw** **—** Spiky black and white tom with hazel eyes.

 **Pebblepaw** **—** Dark grey mottled molly with green eyes.

 **QUEENS**               (cats expecting or nursing kits )  
**Daisypelt** **—** Cream molly with white splotches, small ears, and amber eyes.  
( Mother of Volekit and Cricketkit )

 **ELDERS**               ( former warriors and queens, now retired )  
**Berryspots** **—** Reddish-brown mottled tom with shredded ears and yellow eyes.

 **Goldenfur** **—** Golden marble-tabby and white molly with a greying muzzle and yellow eyes.

 **KITS**                    (cats under six moons, preparing to become apprentices)  
**Volekit** **—** Grey molly with a white underbelly and amber eyes.

 **Cricketkit —** Grey and white molly with long legs and yellow eyes.

**WILLOWCLAN**

**LEADER  
Spottedstar**  **—** Tall sandy cat with black spotted-tabby markings down their legs and tail, and deep amber eyes.

 **DEPUTY** **  
Fallowshade** **—** Aging dark grey molly with a greying muzzle, shredded ears, scars across her neck, and green eyes.

 **MEDICINE CAT**  
**Streamfur**  — Long-furred tawny tom with a long white stripe down his spine and tail and large blue eyes.  
(Apprentice - Duckpaw )

 **WARRIORS**       ( cats without kits )  
**Waspflight** **—** Pale patched-tabby with a short black tail and amber eyes.

 **Featherheart** **—** Dusty brown classic-tabby molly with broad shoulders and amber eyes.  
( Apprentice - Darkpaw )

 **Bluethroat —** Blue-grey tom with large tufted ears and green eyes.

 **Applenose** **—** Brown molly with a white marking around her large nose and has bright green eyes.  
( Apprentice - Amberpaw )

 **Curlfur —** Cream tom with rough short curly fur and yellow eyes. Originally a kittypet.  
( Apprentice - Mintpaw )

 **Breezecloud** **—** Large bulky, mostly black molly with white cloud-shaped splotches and green eyes.

 **Rooksong** **—** Lanky dark grey molly with a scarred muzzle, a bushy tail and amber eyes.

 **Frogrunner —** Dark brown tom with long sturdy legs and hazel eyes.  
( Apprentice - Ferretpaw )

 **Brambleblaze** **—** Sleek brown and white molly with a badly torn ear and amber eyes.

 **Hollowstrike** **—** Large dark classic-tabby tom with yellow eyes. Originally a kittypet and wears a collar without a bell.

 **Copperflash** **—** Short dark ginger ticked-tabby tom with brown eyes.

 **APPRENTICES**     ( more than six moons old, in training to become warriors )  
**Duckpaw** **—** Short white molly with ginger legs, a soft pink nose and hazel eyes.

 **Ferretpaw** **—** Silver mackerel-tabby tom with a narrow face, short legs and blue-grey eyes.

 **Darkpaw** **—** Near black molly with a lighter underbelly and odd green/amber eyes.

 **Amberpaw —** Golden and white patched-tabby molly with sharp amber eyes.

 **Mintpaw** **—** Long-furred grey mottled tom with green eyes.

 **QUEENS**              ( cats expecting or nursing kits )  
**Yellowflower** **—** Light grey molly with soft fur and yellow eyes.  
( Mother of Cinderkit and Cedarkit )

 **Plumstripe** **—** Dark grey mackerel-tabby molly with amber eyes.  
( Mother of Cherrykit, Fernkit and Hailkit )

 **ELDERS**               ( former warriors and queens, now retired )  
**Whitepad** **—** White tom with a long scar along his shoulders, several missing toes on one paw and icy-blue eyes.

 **Dewdrop** **—** Thick-furred blue-grey molly with pale green eyes and wears a dark blue collar. Originally a kittypet.

 **Ashenleap** **—** Elderly light grey and white with yellow eyes and a ragged pelt.

 **KITS**                    ( cats under six moons, preparing to become apprentices )  
**Cinderkit** **—** Strudy grey tom with a darker grey tail and yellow-grey eyes.

 **Cedarkit** **—** Light brown classic-tabby molly with light amber eyes.

 **Rushkit** **—** Pretty near-white molly with black mackerel-tabby stripes, light blue-green eyes and is polydactyl. Not clan-born.

 **Wildkit —** Brown tabby with long unkempt fur and a white throat, tail-tip, and forepaws. Has bronze eyes. Not clan-born.

 **Amberkit** **—** Red-pointed and white tom with pale amber eyes.

 **Fernkit** **—** Long-furred brown flecked molly with green eyes.

 **Hailkit** — Light grey patched-tabby tom with amber eyes.

 **NON-CLAN CATS**  
**Goldenrod** **—** Grey ticked-tabby tom with bright yellow eyes and wears a white collar. Currently recovering from a gang-cat attack.

 **Whisper —** Golden molly with a flat face, a greying muzzle, a badly twisted forepaw, dull green eyes and wears a bell-collar. Currently recovering from falling over a cliff face.

 **Splash —** Small beautiful tortoise-shell and white molly with amber eyes and wears a studded collar. Currently lost from home.

**MAN PLACE CATS**

**GANG LEADER**  
**Stones** **—** Huge broad-shouldered ginger and white patched-tabby with dark brown stripes, tufted ears, odd blue/green eyes, snaggly yellow teeth and wears a black collar.

 **GANG MEMBERS**  
**Strike** **—** Dark grey marble-tabby tom with scars all over his pelt, a single yellow eye and a clawed out eye.

 **Blizzard** **—** Huge long-furred snow-white molly with a long scar across her throat and dark amber eyes.

 **Crush** **—** Light grey molly with shredded ears, yellow eyes and wears a red collar.

 **Lizard** **—** Dark marble-tabby tom with several toes missing from one forepaw, long sharp teeth and piercing yellow eyes.

 **Coal —** Stout heavy black tom with a long bushy tail and amber eyes.

 **QUEENS**              (cats expecting or nursing kits)  
**Saber** **—** Dark tortoise-shell molly with a flat face, a big bushy tail and pale amber eyes.  
( Mother to Lord, Hiss, Rex and Chuck )

 **Peaches** **—** Tan molly with a patchy pelt and yellow eyes.

 **KITS**  
**Lord** _**—**_ Grey and white patched-tabby tom with a flat face, amber eyes and a shaggy pelt.

 **Hiss** _**—**_ Dark tortoise-shell molly with a wide nose and pale green eyes.

 **Rex** _**—**_ Dark brown ticked-tabby molly with green eyes, long sharp claws and a flat face.

 **Chuck** _**—**_ Black tom with a flat face and amber eyes.

 **HOUSECATS**      ( cats that live under the ownership of man )  
**Miss Emerald** **—** Elderly calico molly with a scarred flank, green eyes, is de-clawed, is very frail and wears a red bell collar. Belongs to an elderly woman.

 **Diva** **—** Ginger molly with small paws, yellow eyes and a dark pink nose.

 **Koshka okhoty ( Koshka )** **—** Older tall long-furred silver mackerel-tabby tom with black stripes, white muzzle and paws, dull green eyes, wears a dark collar with a heavy buckle. Belongs to a rare cat breeder.

 **Mrahaba wa Felidae ( Mrahaba )** **—** Gorgeous long-legged golden marbled molly with spots much like a leopard's, deep amber eyes and wears a studded collar. Belongs to a rare cat breeder.

 **Paka wa Upepo ( Paka )** **—** Very tall handsome golden black-spotted tom with large black ears, powerful long legs and cooper-orange eyes. Belongs to a rare cat breeder.

 **Spanner** — Solid dark ginger tom with curled ears, clear blue eyes and wears an oil-strained dark blue bandanna. Belongs to a mechanic.

 **Pearl** _**—**_ Tall sturdy brown mackerel-tabby molly with a white chest, muzzle and paws, a pink nose, a short bobbed tail, is polydactyl, bright blue eyes and wears a pink ribbon. Belongs to a young girl.

 **Sooty** — Long-furred white and grey tom with ears folded against his head, pale yellow-green eyes and wears a blue collar. Belongs to a pet groomer.

 **Bella** — Diluted calico mackerel-tabby and white molly with soft fur, amber eyes and wears a collar with a bell. Belongs to a pet groomer.

 **Claymore** _**—**_ Young black molly with faded marble-tabby markings, yellow-green eyes and wears a red bell collar. Belongs to a family.

 **LONERS**  
**Pepper** _**—**_ Grey molly with dark flecks along her back, a torn ear and amber eyes.

 **Jersey** — Sturdy brown and white tom with large paws and dark blue eyes.

 **Junior** — Small brown and white tom with grey-blue eyes.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> At the end of each chapter that includes a change within the clans, I'll add the new information in this format so that we all look and remember what changes have happened.


	2. Prologue

Freezing cold rain poured down relentlessly, soaking everything from the trees, to the bushes, and to the ground, which had turned muddy from the constant lashing rain. The howling wind pushed the rain harder against the forest, making the chill of leafbare all the more frigid.

In amongst the soaked bushes on the outskirts of a large open clearing, a brown female feline poked a head out from under the wet foliage with leaves of some sort in her jaws.

The molly ran out of their hiding place to dive to dive under another bush. She continued to do this around the clearing, until she came into running distance of an opening in the bramble bushes she recognized. The brown cat raced for it, quickly heading for an old badger sett that made up her den on the far left of the clearing.

The sour smell of illness greeted her, but she did not hesitate on entering the dark inner workings of her underground den, but she only did so after shaking her pelt of rain water. She was chilled to the bone, but she knew that her patients needed her. She was her clan’s only medicine cat after all.

Although, she certainly didn’t feel like the medicine cat after recent events. With the downpour, there had come an epidemic of green-cough that swiftly took hold of the clan’s cats. Despite the medicine cat’s best efforts to treat all those that were sick, several cats had already succumbed to the illness, including two queens and one of their young kits.

 _If only I had found that patch of tansy sooner,_ the brown molly sadly mused as she directed herself through the darkness with nothing, but muscle memory. _perhaps one of them could have survived._

She shook her head in a vain attempt to shake the thoughts from her mind as she climbed into one of the chambers that held one of her patients. The sett that made the medicine cats’ den had a tunnel system only she knew by heart. Any other cat would require some assistance in finding their way out, as the old sett was fairly wide-spread and large, even for a badger sett.

In the near pitch black of the chamber, the medicine cat could just make out the shape of a cat lying in a moss nest, their flanks slowly raising and falling in time with their ragged breathing.

She deliberately took slow pawsteps as she entered the underground chamber, placing the herbs she had in her mouth at her large paws.

“Eaglestar,” she whispered to the near still cat. “I brought you chickweed.” The tip of her tail twitched as she waited for the sick cat to respond to her. “Please take it.” She urged.

It took several heartbeats, but Eaglestar shifted slightly before letting out a cough. “How is Morningbreeze. . ?” He rasped. “Is she well?”

The medicine cat blinked at her leader, but she forced herself to smile. “She is growing stronger, Eaglestar. She will fight more battles to come. Now please,” she pushed the herbs towards Eaglestar’s muzzle. “take this chickweed, so you can fight those battles beside her.”

Her words seemed to bring ease to the sickly leader. He raised his broad grey head to take the chickweed. He chewed slowly and swallowing the leaves were a struggle, but he wheezed out a weak thanks. “Thank you, Rockfoot.”

Rockfoot gently ran the tip of her tail over her leader’s tattered ears, taking note of how warm they were. Still feverish. “I will be back to check on you soon.” She mewed, backing out of the chamber slowly. She only got a fit of coughing in response.

The medicine cat’s heart felt heavy as she climbed into one of the wider tunnels of the sett, heading for her own chamber that held her herb stocks. _Eaglestar isn’t getting any better,_ she darkly thought. _He’s had green-cough since the beginning of this whole ordeal. Fallen Ones, please have mercy on him._

On the way to her chamber, she poked her head into two more occupied chambers that she had initially passed on her way down to Eaglestar. They were healthier than their leader, which Rockfoot was more than thankful for. One was a young apprentice, barely a moon out of the nursery. The other, was a warrior that Rockfoot admired greatly. By what she could see, they were going to be back on their paws in no time at all.

That revelation lifted some weight from Rockfoot’s shoulders. This green-cough wasn’t going to take everycat to the stars after all. The brown molly finally made it to her own chamber, and was about to head for the back to see if she could salvage some leftover catmint, when she heard her name echoing down the tunnel that lead to outside over the sound of rain.

Heeding the call, Rockfoot turned around and headed straight for the entrance, to be greeted by the bulky shape of the clan deputy standing just on the inside of the sett to dodge the downpour.

“How is Eaglestar?” The tom asked in a hurry. “Has the coughing gotten any better?”

Rockfoot could have sworn she heard, somewhere in the tunnels behind her, she heard coughing. She shook her head, knowing she couldn’t beat around the bush with the older cat. “Sadly, no. I would give him some honey, but I already used the last of it to sooth Cloverkit’s throat yesterday.”

She saw the grey tom’s sodden fur spike up as she slowly continued. “I fear this will be his last night with us, Stonegaze.”

True to his name, the deputy’s eyes turned hard as he snarled at her. “Liar! My father has many lives left! Last time he told me how much he had, he had four!”

Rockfoot stiffened, feeling terribly sorry for her clanmate. “I’m sorry to be the one to tell you, but Eaglestar is on his last life. He has been on it for some time now.”

Stonegaze glared at her, fury burning in his eyes. “My father is strong! He has thrived this long, so he will continue to do so! Something as small as green-cough will not be his demise!”

“This leaf-bare has been difficult on all of us,” Rockfoot hissed back. “and that’s no different for Eaglestar. He is our leader, yes, but he is still just a cat. Just like you and me.”

Stonegaze continued to glare at her, taking a pawstep towards her. “Let me see him.”

Rockfoot quickly blocked the tunnel into the sett with her body. “I can’t let you do that. I can’t have any more cats contract green-cough if I can help it. That includes you, Stonegaze.” When the tom’s tail started to lash behind him, she went on. “What would our clan do if both the leader and the deputy are too sick to lead them?”

The deputy before her unsheathed his long claws, digging them into the sandy ground that led into the sett’s entrance tunnel. He looked away, mulling over what the medicine cat had told him.

He finally took a step back, his scowl still in place. “You’re right.” He cast his stoney gaze to the pouring rain just behind him and sat down heavily. “Will there ever be an end to this downpour? I haven’t felt dry ground under my paws for what feels like moons.”

Rockfoot relaxed, realizing just how exhausted her deputy looked as he stared blankly at the rain. “No storm lasts forever,” she mewed quietly. “nothing does.”


	3. Chapter 1

“Snakekit!”

At the yowl, a tiny dark striped head popped up from behind a large piece of dried out moss. Narrowing his grey eyes at the bright sunlight that spilled into the nursery tunnel, the small kit could see the familiar fluffy shapes of his denmates outside.

“Snakekit, come on!” Called one of them impatiently.

“Coming!” Snakekit squeaked brightly, getting to his paws as they struggled slightly to keep him up. He had only started learning how to walk a short time ago, but he was more than happy to know that he could get to places on his own now. Even if it was hard for him.

He batted away the moss-ball he had been playing with, nearly falling over as he did. With his tail sticking up behind him, he stumbled towards the nursery entrance. _I’m coming!_

Just as he was about to bumble his way out of the nursery and into the sunlit clearing, a large golden paw suddenly blocked the way out. Letting out a surprised mewl, Snakekit clumsily flopped onto his belly to stop himself from slamming into the paw.

Snakekit blinked at the paw, confused to where the limb had come from. He looked up to see the face of the cat who had stopped him. The oldest queen of the clan and the mother of his two denmates, Marigoldshine, was gazing down at him.

“And just where do you think you are going, little traveller?” She asked while bending down.

The tabby kitten looked past the queen’s paw to stare out into the clearing. His denmates were still waiting for him. He looked back up, his tufted ears twitching. “. . .outside?”

Marigoldshine’s amber eyes glowed with amusement in the dim light of the cosy nursery. “Outside, hmm?” She lifted her head to peer deeper into the den. “Did Batear tell you that you could go out?”

Snakekit’s teeny paws shifted awkwardly. He glanced over his shoulder to look at the curled up cream bundle in the second nest into the tunnel-shaped nursery. The bundle was his mother, Batear, and she was fast asleep. Other than her, there were no other cats in the den.

“Shouldn’t you be sleeping as well?” Marigoldshine mewed gently.

“I was sleeping. . .” Snakekit mumbled after turning his head to face her again. “but I wanna play now! I tried waking Mama, but she kept telling me to leave her alone and kept going back to sleep.”He hung his head.

Marigoldshine was quiet for a moment, before she sighed. “I suppose it’d be alright if I let you go out to play for a little while. Kits at your age need to be outside the nursery anyhow.”

The queen smiled down at him before she gently nudged the small kits to his paws with her scarred muzzle. Snakekit huffed and he tried to shrug her away, but he nearly ended up falling over nothing.

Beside him, Marigoldshine didn’t bother to stifle her purr.

Snakekit held his head high, doing his best to ignore how his ears burned as he half-trotted, half-staggered, past her to finally head outside. Marigoldshine carefully stepped out beside him, making sure he didn‘t trip over his paws _._

Snakekit wanted to protest, to say that he didn’t need to be watched over while he walked. He was capable of walking all by himself! The small kit turned away from the queen to look towards were he last saw his denmates. His small grey-blue eyes stung against the harsh sunlight as he tried searching for them.

 _It’s so bright!_ He cried inwardly, blinking rapidly. Snakekit had only opened his eyes recently, just like how he had just learned how to walk. Even if he had already left twice before, the dimness of the nursery befitted his little eyes much better than the bright sunlight of the outside.

The tabby kitten staggered blindly, almost crashing into one of Marigoldshine’s legs when she came to a stop all of a sudden.

“Flintkit! Foxkit!” He heard Marigoldshine call as his eyes continued to adjust. After a heartbeat, Snakekit heard two sets of paws come running towards them. He blinked the last of the sun out of his eyes to see his two denmates.

His denmates were a moon older than he was, so they were some size bigger than little Snakekit. He knew that they didn’t have any problems walking. They never stumbled around like him.

“There you are, Snakekit!” Flintkit exclaimed, her stone grey fur covered in dust from playing. She looked most like her father, Stonestar, rather than Marigoldshine. “I thought you were never going to come out.” Foxkit stared up at his mother with wide blue eyes. His own fur, white with ginger patches, was far more fluffy compared to his littermate’s fur.

“Kits, I want the two of you to play nice with Snakekit, okay?” Marigoldshine meowed, leaning over to give Flintkit a lick between the ears. “He isn’t big enough to play rough like the two of you yet.”

If Snakekit’s tail wasn’t keeping him on his paws, he would’ve let it thump against the ground. _I am big enough! I can walk all by myself and I can throw the biggest moss-ball higher than anycat else!_

“Marigoldshine!” Flintkit groaned loudly, doing her best to avoid any more of the queen’s licks.

Foxkit nodded up at his mother. “We won’t,” he replied with a smile. “we’ll be good with him! Promise!”

Marigoldshine nodded approvingly at him before she gently nudged Snakekit towards his older denmates with her nose.

“If any of you kits need me,” she straightened up to point her short tail at a huge old oak tree on the far right side of the camp. “I’ll be sitting in the shade of the Great Oak with Blacksplash, alright?” The Great Oak was what the clan leader climbed up to address the clan and it grew right beside the leader’s den.

Snakekit had to stretch his neck to gaze past Marigoldshine’s foreleg to look at the shadowy area under the oak. There was a cat busying themselves with washing their white fur. _Why are they called Blacksplash?_ Snakekit knew he was only a moon old, but he knew the difference from black and white, and they clearly were not black!

He felt Marigoldshine give him another nudge. “Off you pop, then.”

“Come on, Snakekit!” Flintkit bounced on her paws, giving the smaller kitten’s ear a swipe. “Let’s go play!”

Snakekit felt his hindlegs try to buckle under him as he tried to regain his balance. Was there nothing that couldn’t make him fall over? The tabby squeaked at Flintkit, doing his best to swat at her long whiskers.

Flintkit turned tail, racing off across the clearing with a loud excited squeal. Snakekit scuttered after her, his paws awkwardly trying to copy the molly’s movements. Foxkit followed in his clumsy pawsteps.

Marigoldshine meowed after them. “Now, don’t go disturbing anycat! And don’t play with anything from prey-pile!”

Only Foxkit really paid her any mind.

Snakekit quickly flattened himself against the grassy ground as Flintkit leapt for him with her paws outstretched. She jumped right over him to land awkwardly on her side. "Oof!" She grunted.

Taking advantage of the opening he was presented with, Snakekit confidently swiped at her haunches. Flintkit yelped and one of her hind legs kicked out for him. The leg smacked him squarely in the shoulder and he fell onto his side. The small kitten attempted to scramble to his paws, only to have Foxkit bite into his tail and ruin his balance.

Snakekit hissed at him. _I need that!_ He tried to do the same as what Flintkit had done with him by swinging a desperate hind leg at Foxkit. He felt his foot miss his denmate by what felt like a whisker.

Foxkit reacted by yanking hard on his tail. The young kit let out a yowl as a sharp pain shot up his spine. He wailed again, pulling his tail free out of his denmate's mouth. He stumbled again, falling forward onto his stomach.

The ginger and white kit stepped around him, giving the smaller cat a worried look. “Are you-”

He began, but before he could finish his question, Flintkit screeched out. “Take this, you Pineclan rat!” The bigger kit slammed herself into her brother’s flank, sending the both of them into a flurry of fur and squeals.

 _That really hurt._ Snakekit slowly sat up. He wanted to wail for his mother, but he held back. He didn’t want everycat to think he was soft. He was a warrior cat and warrior cats are never soft.

He twisted his tiny body around to look at his tail to see if it had become bald or crooked. He sighed with relief when he saw that it looked perfectly normal. The kitten made sure it still worked by cautiously flicking it around.

Giving his messy fur a fast wash to flatten it, Snakekit looked up to see where his playmates had went off to. He spotted them clambering over each other close to a fallen hollow oak tree that made up the apprentices’ den.

Knowing that his tail still worked, Snakekit straighted it out and stomped towards them angerly. He had come out of the nursery to play with them, not to be roughed up and left behind.

As he approached, Flintkit roll head over tail into the side of the tree with a loud thud after Foxkit threw her off of him. Snakekit gasped. He hadn’t seen anycat hit their head that hard before.

Snakekit was ready to race over to see if Flintkit was alright, but he nearly fell over for a third time since he had left the nursery when a striped grey head poked out of a hole in the tree’s bark.

Whoever the cat was, he started hissing at Flintkit and Foxkit about waking him from a well deserved nap. Snakekit was surprised to see such a big cat coming out of the apprentices’ den. _If apprentices can be that big, how big do warriors get?_ He had seen plenty of warriors while out and about camp, but they were mostly around the same height as the apprentice.

Not wishing to get an eaful like denmates, Snakekit decided to wait for them in the shadow of the Clearing Stones, which were a large set of smooth flat boulders that were perfect for sunning on that sat in the middle of camp.

While the apprentice continued to scold Flintkit and Foxkit, he glanced up at the boulder that towered over him. They were far larger than any of his clanmates, just like the trees surrounding the camp. They were the biggest things Snakekit hand ever seen in his short life, but he knew that they were the biggest things in the entire world. They made him so small.

Snakekit shook out his dark fur and sat down with his head held high. If he thought the forest made him feel small, then all the mice and voles must feel even smaller!

Feeling intrigued by his surroundings, he decided to look at what he could see of camp from his shaded seat by the Clearing Stones. The camp was a large, wide clearing, filled with soft grass and patted down earth. It was encircled by thick bramble bushes, ferns, and oak trees.

Snakekit wanted to take in every detail of the camp. He wouldn’t be allowed to leave until he reached six moons old, so he wanted to use all the time he’s got taking everything in. The camp was so big. At first, Snakekit thought the camp was the whole world, but Flintkit had explained to him that the world reached further than any of them could ever imagine.

 _I’ll see it all!_ He vowed to himself. _I’ll see the whole world!_

Snakekit turned back to where he last saw his denmates, his paws impatiently groping at the grass. Flintkit and Foxkit were padding away from the apprentices’ den with their tails dragging behind them. The grey tabby apprentice was nowhere to be seen, so Snakekit guessed they had returned to their next for more sleep.

He mewled out to them and the both of their heads pricked up. They quickened their step as they approached him.

“Hazepaw is a big meanie!” Flintkit growled as she sat herself down in the shade alongside Snakekit. Her grey fur looked more disheveled than before. Her brother huffed out a small agreement, sitting beside his sibling.

Snakekit shuffled his paws nervously as Flintkit’s tail whipped around behind her while Foxkit gave the apprentinces’ den a long glare over his shoulder.

“. . .who was that cat?” Snakekit asked innocently, wanting to dispel the irritated air between the three of them. “I don’t know who he is.”

Foxkit turned back and wrapped his big bushy tail around his white paws. “That was Hazepaw, one of our older siblings.” He answered simply. “He’s Lightningfur’s apprentice.”

Snakekit recognized that name. She was a tabby with fur coloured like sand that stuck out in all angles that Flintkit had pointed out while they were exploring the camp the day before. Flintkit mentioned that she was a senior warrior and that she was a mentor.

“He’s big.” Snakekit bluntly remarked, recalling how bulky and tall the grey tom stood over his older denmates.

“He’s going to get his warrior assessment soon,” Flintkit grumbled, now laying herself down on the grass with her back to the hollow oak den. “now he thinks he can boss anycat around if they are smaller than him. Especially us.”

Foxkit rolled his eyes at his sister’s words. “I think Hazepaw acts like that because he’s one of Stonestar’s first kittens. I’m sure you’d act the exact same way if you were in his place, Flintkit.”

The grey molly stiffened. “I wouldn’t be anything like that! Marigoldshine would kick my tail if I spoke to somecat like that-! You know she doesn’t like it when we flaunt being Stonestar’s kits, so Hazepaw shouldn’t be doing it either!”

Snakekit blankly gazed at the two older kittens as they continued their conversation. He didn’t know what it was like to have siblings. He was the only one born in his litter and Batear had never had kits before him. He wished he had littermates. They seemed like fun and it would be nice to have somecat the same size and age as he was.

The sound of rustling caught their attention and all three of them turned to look in the direction were the sound had come from. A group of cats emerged out of the bushes and ferns that made up the camp’s entrance. Nearly every cat had prey dangling limply in their mouths.

Flintkit quickly shot up, her green eyes sparkling. “It’s the hunting patrol!” She squeaked, all ire towards Hazepaw fading in a heartbeat. She licked her lips as she watched the patrol walk around the Clearing Stones to place their prey onto the prey-pile that sat on the other side of the huge boulders.

Foxkit jumped to his paws with an excited mewl. “Let’s go see what they caught!”

“I think I saw Patchfoot carrying a blackbird! I love blackbirds!” Flintkit twirled around and quickly raced around to meet the patrol on the other side. Foxkit trotted after his littermate with a giddy giggle.

Snakekit stood up and followed, albeit very slowly. He hadn’t started eating prey like Flintkit and Foxkit yet, but he didn’t see why he would want to start. Prey meat looked and smelled weird compared to Batear’s milk.

The brown tabby padded around the last boulder and watched his denmates gleefully welcome the patrol back, all while giving the newly brought in prey a good sniff.

Suddenly, excitement bubbled up in Snakekit’s chest when he spotted a familiar black pelt in amongst the group of cats. _Spiderstrike!_ Snakekit could barely contain himself. He rushed straight for the tom without a second thought, not caring that he tripped over his paws many times while doing so.

The black cat was a very important cat. He was the clan deputy, but even more importantly, he was Snakekit’s father.

Spiderstrike placed a fat vole onto the prey-pile and lifted his head when Snakekit came bounding clumsily towards him.

“Spiderstrike! Spiderstrike!” The small kitten mewled, stumbling over his father’s paws. The deputy had to take a surprised step back as the kitten began asking him all sorts of questions about his hunt. “How long did it take you to catch that vole? Was it easy to catch it? Where did you find it?”

However, rather than giving the kitten any answers to his questions, Spiderstrike silenced him with a hard glare. Snakekit quickly came to a staggering hault when he made eye contact with his father. His ears fell against his skull and he stared down at his tiny paws.

“Snakekit, behave yourself.” Spiderstrike said with an edge in his rough meow. “Warriors do not tread on each other’s paws. What if you tread on one of your clanmate’s paws in the midst of battle?”

Snakekit tucked his tail between his legs before giving his father a murmured answer. “. . .we’d fall over?”

“Yes,” Spiderstrike grunted. “and you’ll leave not only yourself, but your clanmate, open for an attack.” He straightened up to leer at the other two kittens, who were still badgering the rest of the patrol about their own catches. “Flintkit, Foxkit.”

The two bundles of soft fur stopped what they were doing to stare wide-eyed at their clan deputy.

“I can not believe you two, bothering your clanmates like that.” He said flatly, causing the two kittens to lower their heads in shame. “I expected more out of Stonestar’s kits.”

As Flintkit and Foxkit fumbled with their paws anxiously, the cats from the hunting patrol left the prey-pile with the exception of a reddish-brown tom with a long scar scored across the middle of his face.

He wrapped his tail around the two cowering kittens before speaking up. “Spiderstrike, don’t be so harsh on them. They’re just kits, not warriors. They don’t know everything, so let them ask all the questions they want. Kits are the clan’s future, after all.”

Spiderstrike glared at the warrior, but said nothing. Instead, he turned his head to leer at an opening in the bushes that were nestled beside the Great Oak.

The tabby tom looked ready to continue on standing up for the kits, but he bent down to give Flintkit a small encouraging nudge with his nose. “How about I tell you about how I caught that squirrel I brought in?” He nodded away from the prey-pile and Spiderstrike.

The two kittens brightened up. “Yes please, Redfur! They cried, following the tom as he padded away.

Snakekit wondered if he should go with them, but he wanted to stay with Spiderstrike, even if he wasn’t in his father’s good side. He hadn’t actually seen much of his father up until this point.

Spiderstrike had only come to the nursery tunnel once when Snakekit was still unable to see. He had heard his voice, but his memories from before he could see and walk were foggy, but he knew it had been Spiderstrike that had spoken to Batear.

Now that his eyes were open, Snakekit had only seen his father one time before this. He had been pointed out to him by Foxkit two sunrises ago. At the time, Spiderstrike was having a hushed conversation with Stonestar, so Snakekit never went to see him up close.

Snakekit thought that Spiderstrike didn’t like him or his mother anymore, and that was why he never came around to see him. He had asked Batear about it, but his worried had been soothed by her tongue and an explanation.

 _Spiderstrike is a busy cat,_ she had told him. _you should be proud of him for doing so much for his clan that he can not spare time to visit us._

Snakekit knew his mother was right. He was the clan deputy and being deputy took up far too much time. _He is a busy cat,_ the kitten repeated to himself as Spiderstrike padded past him. _he is a very busy cat._

Silently, the small dark tabby kitten tagged along behind his father, making sure to not bring too much attention onto himself. They passed the prey-pile and walked into the shade of the Great Oak, where Marigoldshine and Blacksplash were sharing tongues.

Snakekit’s grey eyes widened in surprise when he saw Blacksplash’s face when he and Spiderstrike came to a stop less than a tail-length from the two mollys. Despite being almost all white, there was black framing her blue eyes. It looked as if she had been splashed in the face by black water. Now he knew why she was named Blacksplash!

The kitten turned to look at his father, realizing that he hadn’t took in what his father looked like yet. He craned his head back to get a better look.

Spiderstrike was mostly black, but he had white all around his muzzle and throat. On his dark coat, there were very faint stripes which became easy to see against the fading white that ran down his legs.

And on the tips of his ears were little tufts that made Snakekit grin. His own ears wiggled. He had those exact tufts on the ends of his own ears. From what he had been told, there was no one else with them in the entire clan.

Snakekit looked nothing like his mother, she was a pale sandy colour and her ears were big, so knowing that he resembled his father made him swell with pride. He was the son of the clan deputy, who was a very busy cat!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This fanfic has a tumblr blog, as that is were the allegiances for all the cats are held, as well as dumb doodles and non-chapter things like story updates are, so please check out warriorsweallfalldown.tumblr.com for all of that good stuff!  
> \- - -  
> Writing in the POV of a kitten that can barely walk and talk is far more harder than I thought it would be. I am not the expert on cat growth, but hopefully, I did better than what the Erins usually try to pull off as normal in canon (like kittens opening their eyes as soon as they are born).
> 
> Originally, Snakekit didn't exist in the first version of the fanfic, and when he appeared in the rewrite, he was a background kitten that did not show up until near the end, if I ever actually decided when he was going to be born. Now, he's the main character! The cat that it revolved around is still around, but he isn't going to be important whatsoever.
> 
> Chapters won't be updating this much, as I already had written this chapter's rough draft before I even wrote the prologue, and the next chapter hasn't been rough-drafted yet, as well as any other chapter, so don't expect a fast update like this one!

**Author's Note:**

> So, Sparky finally got off his butt and actually wrote something, and surprise, it's a Warriors fanfic!  
> This fanfic is actually going through it's second rewrite, as I originally wrote it all the way back in '09, then I tried to give it a rewrite in '12, but ended up losing interest despite myself. However, now it is under a new name and new character, so hopefully this reboot will give it the push it needed.  
> Currently, I have no proof readers, so I may have overshot the useage of commas.
> 
> This fanfic has a tumblr blog, as that is were the allegiances for all the cats are held, as well as dumb doodles and non-chapter things like story updates are, so please check out warriorsweallfalldown.tumblr.com for all of that good stuff!


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